A whole lotta goings on going on

My lack of blogging is not due to a lack of stuff to talk about. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kenny and I are in the process of buying our first house (our first house!!), so between that, being very busy at work and trying to squeeze in family time it's been too nuts to find the time to write.

We're scheduled to close on the house on the 29th and then Brendan and I are leaving on the 30th for a weeklong trip to Maine with Mima, Papa, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon. We're going up for a family reunion on my mom's side and seeing folks we haven't seen in many, many years. We're all super excited! Daddy is saving his vacation time for our big move so unfortunately he won't be able to come with us. :(

We had Brendan's birthday party at Mima and Papa's house two weeks ago with family and some friends. I still can't believe my little man is two years old already.

His two-year check-up was yesterday; he's up to 35.5" tall and weighs 28lb 7oz. So back to the 75th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight.

B started the visit in very good spirits. He played with some toys and read me a few books while we waited to be called in. When we were called back he led the way, then decided that maybe he remembered this place and maybe he didn't want to be here after all when he saw we were going into one of the exam rooms. "Up, Mama." I picked him up and he clung to me for dear life. It's not easy getting a lanky two-year old undressed while he suctions his body to yours and pleads with you not to let go.

I wanted nothing more than to just scoop him up and run out of there but I figured one of us had to act like an adult and since technically, I'm that person, I played the role of the Stepfordesque Mommy and smiled while I told him in my most pleasant voice that everything was going to be all right. After crying and saying "no, no, no" and looking at me with crazy eyes while he was measured and weighed, he finally calmed down and got distracted by books and a few toys that someone had blessedly left in the room.

Now, I very clearly remembered the doctor saying at his 18-month appointment that he wouldn't be getting any vaccines at this appointment. So you can imagine my surprise when she said that someone (who obviously has no children) made the decision that toddlers should get an extra dose of a particular vaccine. Ugh. In walks the nurse who tells me to lay him down and HOLD HIS HANDS OVER HIS HEAD like some sidekick in a torture routine while she sticks his meaty little thigh. Brendan cried and cried and cried.

Next up: down to the lab for bloodwork. In all honestly, I considered calling it quits at this point. Then I had a little pep talk with myself where I told me to man up and get this over with. So down to the lab we went. He had calmed down at that point and was flirting with all the lovely ladies in the lab while we waited. They called us in and I was told to have him sit on my lap, then BLOCK HIM IN WITH MY LEGS AND HOLD HIS ARM OUT SO THEY CAN STICK A NEEDLE IN HIS ARM AS THICK AS A BANANA AND DRAW TWO VIALS OF BLOOD. Yes, I'm shouting. Yes, it's necessary.

Thankfully his veins drain faster than his Mama's. Screams and cries and Mama's heart breaks but I kept my Stepford grin on and mustered up all the pleasantness I had left to hold him and tell him that the torture was done and everything was going to be all right. He cried all the way out to the car then passed out.

I told Daddy the next check-up is all him. Mama's done.

Here are some pics from B's birthday party. I haven't taken a whole lot of pictures lately but am going to try to remember to bring the camera this weekend.

Wearing his adorable shirt that Auntie Jilly found on etsy.com


Blowing out the candles with Uncle Scotch







Brendan is 2 years, 2 weeks and 3 days old today!

18 Months

Sir is a growing machine! He had his 18-month appointment today where we found out that he grew 2.5" since his last appointment three months ago. He shot up from the 75th percentile to the 95th percentile!

This is kind of where I imagined he'd be all along, considering how tall Kenny and I are. He gained one pound, nothing crazy, but he's been fighting a stomach bug (which he graciously shared with Momby and Daddy - yes, he calls me Momby) so I'm sure that he's closer to a 1.5 to 2lb gain. Anyway, he's still in the 50th percentile for weight and above the 95th percentile for head circumference, which still makes me giggle.

He's been a lot more vocal and determined to express himself. Most of what he says still sounds like a whole lot of gibberish but we can make out some words here and there. Some of his favorites are:

Oh mo! (oh no)
Shyooz (shoes)
Uh oh!
Cookie (of course he knows this one!)
Mombydaddy (he has a habit of babbling and stringing these two words together)
Ee-i-ee-i-oooo (this is the only part of Old MacDonald he knows and he likes to interject it randomly during his rants)
Uppy (up)
Bush tee (brush teeth)
No (always with a head shake to emphasize the "no" part)
Te-you (two, after I say one)

And of course he knows a few of his favorite shows on Nick Jr.:
Wow wow wow wow Wubshe (Wow Wow Wubbzy)
Booz cooz (Blue's Clues)
Yoo (Yo Gabba Gabba)

His receptive language is really developing nicely too. He knows what it means when I ask him to bring me something, when I say it's time for a bath or bed, etc. It's amazing how quickly their language develops at this age. Every time I look at him I wonder where my baby went.


Brendan is 18 months, 2 weeks and 4 days old today!

Colossal Cranium

Today was Brendan's 12-month check-up (a little late considering he's 10 days away from 13 months). Brendan is home from daycare this week since Chris is away so Daddy brought him to the doctor and I left work to meet them over there.

He was a model patient, as always, sitting up nice and straight and was very calm (and curious!) while the doctor listened to his heartbeat and checked his ears and eyes. She asked about the milestones he reached; one being whether he pointed at objects and he promptly responded by pointing at her, genius child that he is.

B weighed in at 22lb 5oz and 30.75" tall. His weight is somewhere around the lower middle range, while his height puts him at about the 75th percentile. I don't know his head measurement but whatever it is, it knocked him clear off the charts! Daddy found this very funny. Of course, B had a nice big black and blue on his forehead from one of his recent falls. Thankfully they didn't run out and call CPS on us.

He had to get his third HIB vaccine and first Hep A vaccine. Which pissed him off royally but thankfully he calmed down pretty quickly. We headed down to the lab next so they could draw two vials of blood to test for lead poisoning and anemia. As we were waiting in the lab I commented to Ken how much better B and I handle his shots now compared to his first ones at two months. And then I promptly ate my words.

Drawing blood, if you've ever had it done and I'm sure you have, is much worse than getting a shot because it's a prolonged kind of event. B sat on Daddy's lap while a nurse held one arm and the lab guy held his other one and took the blood. I made some excuse about needing to get the stroller out of the way and stood on the other side of the room. They put the needle in and it was quiet and I thought, wow, he's handling this really well! Then he turned toward me in slow motion and I saw his face, melted with absolute sadness and horror at the pain (oh, the pain!), and then he let out a wail that didn't stop until a few minutes after they took the needle out and he was safe in Daddy's arms again. I did not cry, interwebs, but my heart broke for him.

Next appointment is at 15 months. Eek.


Brendan is 1 year, 2 weeks and 6 days old today!

A Shot for Brendan (and a few for Mommy -- the kind that burn the back of your throat going down)

Brendan had his 9-month check-up on Monday. Grandma Annie came along, which was nice for Mommy because I was pretty sure he was going to be getting at least one shot. Brendan was displaying some clear signals that he was aware of where he was and the sort of impending doom that follows when one visits the doctor. When I put him on the table to get him undressed he started whimpering and looking at me with pleading eyes, "Why Mom? Why are you doing this to me? I promise I'll be good. I'll eat all my green vegetables without making faces or gagging until I puke." And my heart just broke for the little guy. I did my best to keep my game face on and smiled at him and told him everything would be fine. But let's face it, when you're at the doctor's office everything ain't gonna be fine and he knew it.

Despite my absolute certainty that he weighs at least 130 pounds, Brendan came in at a delicate 21lb 1.5oz (50th percentile). He's 29.75" tall (80th percentile) and has a head circumference somewhere in the 90-95th percentile. A string bean with a watermelon on top. I made sure to announce to the doctor that he got this last trait from his large-headed father. He did indeed need a shot, but only one. Which did nothing to diminish the amount of pissed-offness that followed.

As Brendan approaches the big O-N-E, Kenny and I are more than ready to start looking for a bigger place to buy. One that might actually be able to contain the absurd amount of stuff that comes with a baby. And a husband who gets serious separation anxiety when I casually mention that it might be time to think about throwing away that pile of magazines from oh, 1980! I'd like to say that the new place will be spotless and everything will be organized in labeled, color-coded bins and we'll host weekly parties to show everyone how on top of it we are. But let's face it, we're not those people and our house will never be clean again. At least not until I have a place of my own.

Brendan has decided to skip crawling (he says it's for babies) and move straight to walking. Mommy and Daddy either need longer arms or Sir needs to grow about a foot. When he gets it into his head that it's time to practice, there's no room for negotiation. And it's some back-breaking stuff—walking all hunched over him so he can hold onto our fingers. I tried to get him to use the walker thing but he just got all pissed off and pitched a fit. Maybe because he kept rolling it over his little sausage foot. (He has a tendency to walk with his left foot facing due west.) I'll post a video of it when I can find a few minutes.

Since I neglected to blog about Easter, which we spent with Grandma Annie, Grandpa Charlie and Great Grandma Mimi, I'll post some adorable pictures of our very own little Easter Bunny below. Oh, and some other pictures too. Because they're cute. And I like to show off my exceptionally photogenic child.

Nine more days until Florida!!! Woooo hooo!!! We are soooo excited to see everyone and for Brendan to meet his Grandpa Billy, Grandma Sharon, Aunt Nicole, Uncle Matthew, Great Grandma Jackie and everyone else down there he hasn't gotten to meet yet. Mommy has made packing lists and is doing everything in her power to be as prepared as possible. Not not mention hoping beyond hope that Brendan doesn't freak out on the plane. I remember being that young girl without kids who rolled her eyes and declared the parents of the screaming kid unfit! And then thinking to myself, "When I have kids they're TOTALLY going to be the best, well-mannered, amazing kids EVER!" ::Blushes and looks down at the floor:: Yeah, what the hell did I know about anything? Is it bad parenting to administer a sleeping aid to a child before takeoff? JUST KIDDING PEOPLE. I wouldn't do that. Not really. Unless it was totally necessary.


















Brendan is 9 months, 3 weeks and 3 days old today!

He ain't heavy...

As I sit here hemorrhaging brain cells while watching Yo Gabba Gabba (have you ever seen this show? The people who write it MUST be tripping 24/7), I'm trying to come up with something blogworthy to write about. Brendan is still as adorable as ever and getting bigger and bigger. In the last two days I've seen two 11-month-old babies who are the same size as my 8-month-old. He is a big boy. Not crawling or walking. Frankly I think he's just lazy and thinks why should he do the work when there are people who will carry him around and move him to where he wants to go?

I don't blame him. Although, like I said, he's not a small kid and lugging around 20lb of squirming little boy gets pretty tiring pretty quickly. I brought him to the doctor a week ago (2 weeks ago?) for his second flu shot and stupidly decided to leave the stroller in the trunk and carry him, my purse and the diaper bag from the parking lot to the doctor's office. The trip in wasn't so bad. But we had to wait a while and that meant I had to keep him entertained while we were in the waiting room. So lots of walking around, bouncing him up and down and all that. By the time we were walking back to the car after the appointment it took everything I had not to drop the bags and sit down in the middle of the parking lot until my back stopped locking up. Somehow I made it to the car without sustaining any permanent damage. Note to self: ALWAYS bring the stroller.

He's an expert sitter and a very chatty little fellow. He's definitely saying mama and dada, although he has no idea what either word means. He's also saying baba and flicking his finger across his lips when he talks to make funny sounds. I've tried feeding him Cheerios and puffs but he has zero interest in either. Grandma even tried giving him a piece of bread but he just wanted to use it as a drumstick to pound the table with. Which makes me wonder, with parents that love to eat, how is it possible that we produced a child who needs to be coerced to eat??

Anyway, here are a few recent pictures. Enjoy!


Mr. Smiley


Being shy Brendan


OK Mom, one more picture and that's it.


Close-up of his beautiful eyes


Playing in his fortress


Sleepy Head



Brendan is 8 months and 1 week old

Snow, snow go away!

I'm tired of snow. It's cold and slippery and hard to drive in. (At least when you have a little Honda Civic. That needs new tires.) While I appreciate the fact that snow means overtime for Kenny which means extra money for us, it also means that I'm basically a single parent until it ends. Sometimes it only means a few hours of overtime. Sometimes it means I don't see Kenny for 2-3 days.

I adore that little bundle of chubby deliciousness but it's exhausting to get up at the crack of dawn with him, get us both ready and out the door by 7:30, drop him off at daycare, work all day, pick him up (if Kenny is still working), get him fed, bathed, spend some quality time with him and then hopefully get him to sleep by 7:30 or so. Then I get an hour, maybe an hour and a half of "me time" before I go to bed. I have such great respect for single parents out there. Especially the ones who have more than one kid. I don't know how they do it!

Anyway, enough of my moaning. We've got grandmothers a half hour or so drive away just chomping at the bit to watch him so it's not like I don't have help if I need it.

The monster, or Sir, as I've become fond of calling him (as in yes Sir, whatever you want Sir, Sir why are you growling, Sir please don't pull my hair) had a check-up last week. Daddy took him to this one by himself and he did a great job! He reported that Brendan is now 28" tall and weighs almost 19lb. He's in the 80th percentile for height and head circumference (he can thank Daddy for that) and 50th percentile for weight. He got a bunch of shots which he did not like one bit but it was nothing a little Tylenol and TLC couldn't cure. I have to bring him back at the end of February for his second flu shot and then he's in the clear until his 9-month appt.

Brendan is eating solids like a champ, three times a day. He gets some cereal and fruit for breakfast, fruit and vegetable for lunch and cereal and vegetable for dinner. All pureed of course. The doctor said he can start finger foods when he's got his pincer grip down (when he can grab small objects with his pointer and thumb fingers). He's just DESPERATE to crawl but he hasn't figured it out just yet. Which, frankly, is fine by me because that's when all the trouble really begins anyway. It's only a matter of time though.

He's got six teeth now, four on top and two on the bottom, and he chews everyhing he can get his chubby little hands on. We're supposed to be brushing his teeth so I went out and bought a tiny little toothbrush for him and gave it a try but he looked at me like it was the most disgusting thing that's ever been in his mouth. Even worse than the time I fed him green beans (which he gagged on and eventually threw up). So I just wipe them with a wet washcloth instead. We'll try the toothbrush again in a few weeks.


Brendan is two days away from 7 months old!

So cute!


Sporting his Alfalfa look


Spending some QT with Grandma Annie


Hanging out with Auntie Andrea




Brendan is two days away from 7 months old today!

Sleep is for wimps

I will no longer ask other mothers about their babies' sleep habits. I just can't listen to another person tell me how their little angel started sleeping through the night at three months. ::shaking fists of fury:: Lies! It's all lies.

I mean, how is it possible that EVERYONE else's baby sleeps all the way through the night without needing a lil' snack here and there?? Oh Brendan, it's okay that it's 1am and you can't possibly survive another second without a bottle. And oh sure, 4am is a perfect time to have a really LOUD conversation with your imaginary friends. But seriously, as soon as I peer over that crib and he sees me and flashes that huge gummy grin, I can't possibly be annoyed about the early wake-up call. Kenny and I have laid (layed? I can never get this right) still in bed many a time at wee hours in the morning stifling a giggle when the baby starts his incessant high octane babbling. The trick is not to let him know that you're in the room or it's all over. Of course, there are times when he just won't give up and we have no choice but to surrender.

Anyway, our little guy had his 4-month checkup on Wednesday. He's up to 15lbs and 25.5" tall. So just below average for weight and a little above average for height. Long and lean. He had to get three shots. Oy. Still not easy for Mommy to deal with so I was grateful that Daddy was able to get to this appt too. Brendan was pissed about the shots and let us know it but this time he calmed down very quickly and was fine for the rest of the night. Thankfully Nana Darlene was watching him the next day so when he woke up with a little temp and crankiness she was able to give him some Tylenol and make everything better.

We got the all clear to start giving him baby cereal and we're hopeful that it will help him sleep for a longer stretch at night. We're going to give it a whirl tomorrow night. Have to make sure the video camera is fully charged for that one. I'm sure it will be an interesting (read: messy and hysterical) adventure. Don't worry, I'll make sure I upload it to You Tube so I can post it here.

Here are some recent pics of the little munchkin. He's just too cute for words.

Halloween:








The new toy:
(Notice the big drool spot on his arm.)




(Moving in for a closer look.)


And of course, a sleepy picture:



Brendan is 4 months, 1 week, 1 day old today!

Two Month Check-up

Today was Brendan's two month check-up at the pediatrician's office which meant it was time for his first shots. Daddy took the day off of work to come because Mommy was too chicken to go by herself and see her baby get upset.

Our little nugget is growing fast! He's up to 12lb 4oz and is 24" long which puts him at the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. No doubt that he will be up in the 90th percentile for height very soon given how tall both parents are! He has a bit of a flat spot on the right side of his head because he favors this side when he's laying down. We've been trying to turn his head as much as possible but it hasn't gotten any better. We also noticed that he has a more limited range of motion when he turns his head to the left so the dr suggested that we take him to a physical therapist to learn some exercises we can do at home with him. It may also be possible to get a sonogram to help loosen the muscles a bit. She doesn't seem to think it will be a problem down the road if we work on getting it fixed now.

Brendan was being his usual chatty self with Daddy while we were waiting for the dr to come in. This is his latest thing and it's absolutely adorable. He stares intently at your mouth while you talk then coos and gurgles a response back. His neck muscles are getting stronger so he's constantly lifting his head to look around. Don't even try to cradle him in your arms, he'll have none of that! He likes to be sitting upright so he can see what's going on around him. He seems fascinated by lights these days. The other night he couldn't get enough of the clock on the cable box. He also has a habit of head butting us when we're trying to burp him. I guess his little head gets a bit too heavy when he gets a good start at lifting it.

Anyway, back to the appt. All was well while the dr was examining him, he was a model patient just kind of watching her and letting her do her thing. Then the nurse came in and gave him the first shot in his thigh and he let out a wail that broke my heart. He was supposed to get three shots today but there is a shortage of one of them so he mercifully only got two. He just about forgot about the first shot when she stuck the second needle in his other thigh. That did it. He started crying, I started crying. Oy. Poor Daddy had to console both of us. I knew I would cry though, I hate seeing someone I care about hurting. And now multiply that when this is your child and you can't explain to him why this is happening.

When the nurse was done I scooped him up and smothered him with hugs and kisses until he stopped crying. Then we put him in the carseat and he passed out for a an hour and a half. He seemed fine when he woke up but around 6pm he started to get really cranky and miserable so I gave him some Tylenol and that seems to be helping. Thankfully we have another 2 months before we have to do this again.

I have only 1.5 weeks left of my maternity leave. I can't believe how quickly it went. Brendan is not even close to sleeping through the night so we'll have to figure out a way to coordinate his night-time feedings so we can both get some sleep and function at work the next day. Hopefully he'll start sleeping for longer stretches than 2 hours at a time very soon. I'm not sure how I've managed to get by this long on such little sleep. Coffee is my best friend.

Here are some adorable pictures of Brendan. There are cute ones of him awake but these ones of him sleeping just make me melt.








Brendan is 2 months, 1 week, 3 days old.

Where has the time gone...

So I've been seriously slacking on my blogging, so sorry. Brendan is 7 weeks old today and getting bigger by the second and reaching some really cool milestones. He's so much more alert now, he's laughing and cooing away at the toy bar on his bouncy chair as I type this. According to my baby book he can see up to 10 feet away now - you've come a long way baby! He turns his head when he hears familiar voices and he follows people when they move around the room. And the smiles! Beautiful, genuine smiles, not the ones that mean he's launching an air attack. Now these may seem like no big deal but to Mommy and Daddy they're huge. It means he's now an interactive toy rather than the blob he used to be when he first came home (although blobs have advantages too, like not needing to be entertained constantly).

I took the baby to the Kensico Dam last week so I could get some exercise walking around. He got pretty restless after the third lap so I set up a blanket under a nice shady tree and we hung out for a few hours enjoying the gorgeous weather. He was sooooo excited, laughing and cooing and flailing his arms and legs all around. It was so much fun to see him like that and of course I went nuts with the camera but the little ham didn't mind it one bit.

We have just 5 weeks left before I go back to work. That is most definitely going to be a sad day for me. But I have something even worse looming on the horizon that will happen before that... Brendan's 2-month checkup where he'll receive his first set of shots. Oh Lord. This is going to suck BIG TIME. He has an appt on 9/9 and I am dreading it. He cries when they weigh him, nevermind when they actually do something that hurts. I'm going to go ahead and announce that I will be crying that day. I would say that I'd try to be strong but there's just no way. If he's crying, I'll be crying for sure. There's nothing worse than hearing your baby cry and not being able to do anything for him. Especially since he won't understand what's happening and why I'm not doing anything to stop it.

Sleep is still mostly elusive at this point. Last night he woke up at 3am for a bottle and decided that he wanted to stay up for a while. Then he woke up again at 5:30am to eat, yet again, and gave me about 5 minutes of sleep before he woke up at 6and declared it was time to wake up for the day. He teases us about once a week by sleeping for a 4-5 hour stretch after midnight. He's been known to do these stretches during the day or in the early evening when it doesn't really count. I get excited thinking that maybe he's finally going to start sleeping through the night and then the next day he's back to eating every 2-3 hours at night. Not fun. But then I look at his cute little smiling face and I can't be frustrated for too long.

Here are some recent pics:

Laundry Day:



Snoozing:






Hanging Out:






Brendan is 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days old today!